Wisdom
by Smokelesseyes
Summary: Life can get pretty hectic, especially when you are in your early twenties and trying to get your life together. Things don't seem to be going as planned, stress is through the roof, and deadlines loom too close for comfort. Doesn't seem like there could BE a better time to get your wisdom teeth removed. Slice-O-Life Ficlet. Alive!Tadashi, TadashixOC. Set after BH6. Art Me
1. Chapter 1

_Hello._

 _So, the short of it: This has not been my week. On top of finals, I've also gotten sick. I either have Laryngitis, or Laryngitis that is morphing into a Sinus Infection. I've had a constant headache the passed three days that no amount of Motrin can cure, used too many tissues, and am sure I spiked a temperature somewhere along the way._

 _Nevertheless, I wrote this._

 _So, this is a little "slice of life" that I believe was inspired my own need to get my wisdom teeth removed, and my sister's experience as well. I've drawn A LOT of Audashi, but barely written any (because drawing is much easier to fit into a hectic schedule than writing), so I got inspired and to help me relax in between studying, I've been typing this out on my iPhone in the Notes Section. I figured that it would only be a few pages, but like with all my writing, it ended up ginormous. Uploaded it to my laptop, put it in Word, and oh, what'd you know, it's just about_ _ **thirty pages**_ _. The dedication I have to write THIRTY PAGES on these two is insane (I'm going down with this ship by myself, and I am 110% okay with that)._

 _So, another reason I wrote this was to brush up my creative writing, as I have been lacking the time for it, as well as figure out BH6 and the characters, as well as Auden, because over this winter break, I'm going to try super hard to write Auden's story. So, practice while I can, huh? Also, I wrote this because some people have told me they want to see more of Auden and Tadashi's relationship, a "slice of life" if you will. I don't know what screams "slice of life" more for two young adults than getting their wisdom teeth ripped out; it's a milestone, you know? But hopefully, this gives you a better insight into their lives_

 _Since this turned out to be so long, I decided to spilt it into three parts. Please let me know if you guys think, what you liked about it and what you didn't, if I missed anything, etc. I will put a disclaimer out though that this may not be my best writing: considering I have a borderline migraine and have been studying overtime, there may be some grammar errors as well as things that don't make sense. I ask you to please forgive me and go easy on me_

 _Happy reading!_

 _~Smokey_

 _Wisdom_

BH6: Slice of Life

Part One

 **Auden**

My mouth felt funny.

That was the first thought that slid rather sluggishly through my mind as I grasped the cusp of consciousness. Everything was dark, and it took me a moment to realize that maybe it was so because my eyes were closed...they were closed, right? I didn't remember shutting them...then again, I didn't remember a whole lot at the moment.

As I pulled myself up towards lucidity, I could feel my body becoming reconnected to my brain. My limbs felt like they were being weighed down, thick and no longer able to be used. My head felt as light as it did heavy, and as I came to feel my eyelids, I vaguely thought of how it felt like someone had stuff cotton into every opening of my head, filling up my brain with fluffy nonsense.

Thoughts sloshed lazily in my mind, breaking apart and becoming shuffled and mixed together in an incomprehensible mess. _'Probably because of the cotton.'_ I thought to myself, that thought sliding around my muddled mind and breaking up all too soon to join the rest of them.

But man, did my mouth feel ODD. It was the one thing that I could focus my wavering attention on long enough to really noticed how bizarre it felt. It felt swollen and thick, like someone had injected honey or molasses into my cheeks and gums. My tongue wasn't fairing any better; it was a useless piece of muscle, numbed to the touch. Wait...could I move my tongue still? If it felt like this, maybe it was paralyzed, or worse, dead? What could I do with a dead tongue? For the first time since I had started to become more aware, I felt fear flicker through my dulled senses. Concentrating as much as I could, I decided to test the theory of my dead tongue, and made to move it in my mouth.

Of course, it was hard to tell if I was actually moving it; not only could I not feel my tongue, but my whole mouth, even my chin and cheeks, suffered from the same muted sensation. Plus, my mind didn't seem to be too keen on seeing if my tongue was actually alive or not; my focus kept drifting, falling back under and into that pile of useless broken thoughts.

"Auden...baby?"

The voice was low, but the tone warm with a hint of concern. It sounded so familiar, but my mind was so jumbled and out of focus that I couldn't find the face to match it. My stomach, however, seemed to recognize the voice right away, as I could feel butterflies flittering around in it, my heart joining in with the recognition as it, too, fluttered.

My attention was drawn from my visceral as I felt something move against my leaden hand, warm and a bit rough, but gentle nonetheless. It was enclosed around it, the back of my hand recipient of smooth, circular strokes, clearly meant to both comfort and arouse me even further than I already was.

"Auden? You waking up?"

The voice was still as warm and quiet as before, and my heart and stomach both seemed to leap at the sudden presence of it again. I could feel curiosity as well as irritation worm its way into my cotton fuzzy mind. WHO was this voice? WHO did it belong to? I racked my boggled mind yet again, but I still couldn't find an answer. Why was thinking so HARD all the sudden?

As I struggled to match the voice to a face, I felt my eyes twitch, and an idea followed shortly after; if I couldn't think of the face, maybe I could look at it. After all, my eyes didn't seem to be as slowed and spacey as my mind (so far), so maybe they would do a better job identifying the person. Focusing a bit more on this thought to keep it from slipping away to the others, I allowed the rest of my attention to rest on my eyes, and after a few moments battling the question of how exactly eyelids worked again, I found a line of light appearing through the darkness I had grown accustomed to.

The voice seemed to have realized that I had cracked my eyes open before I did, because I felt the soothing circles pause on my skin, and something smooth back my hair.

"Auden? Can you hear me?"

The voice was even quieter than before, but by the warm breath that passed over my face, it was also much closer. And if the voice was closer, then so was the face...

I forced my eyelids apart a bit more, struggling with the weight of them for a moment. Everything was too bright, and I wanted to shut my eyes and never open them again. But, the curiosity of who owned the voice propelled me forward, so I simply blinked, trying to clear the sting of the light from my eyes as I opened them even further.

Even with blinking, everything was blurred. It took me a minute to realize that the smearing bright white above me was a ceiling with lights, and from what I could pull from my sluggish mind, not one I was familiar with. I felt my eyebrows crease, mirroring the confusion I felt beginning to seep into my cloudy mind. For the first time since I had become more aware, I realized that I had no idea where I was.

"There she is." The warm voice was back, and once again, my hair was being brushed back in a gentle manner. "Wondering when I was going to see those beautiful eyes again."

It took me a minute to pinpoint where exactly the voice was coming from, as it simply bounced around, back and forth, in my sloppy brain. Letting my eyes drift from the sloppy ceiling and to the right, they came to rest on an equally blurred and smeared figure, but even though I couldn't see him properly, my heart jumped in my ribcage and bubbles piled up in my stomach. I blinked again, longer than I meant to, and stared up at the person, trying to focus my vision on him.

The figure let out a soft chuckle, his shoulders moving slightly as he did.

"Looks like you're awake, but I don't think everything's up and running yet, huh?"

I didn't reply, but just kept staring up at him, trying to get my eyes to cooperate with me when suddenly he was leaning down, his face growing closer and helping to sharpen his facial features. His tone was gentle, voice low enough that when he spoke, it was just barely above a murmur.

"Babe, you with me here?"

Thick, short dark hair, slightly tanned skin, high cheekbones, strong jawline, smooth lips and brown eyes as warm as his voice came into focus. I stared up at him, wheels slowly turning in my head, cobwebs being dusted off as connections formed. Somewhere in my mind, a light bulb went off, though the thick curtain of fog filling my mind dulled the realization. I opened my mouth to speak, but I had to think for a moment how exactly I could form words with a dead and or paralyzed tongue ( still wasn't sure which it was, as the test hadn't really given much evidence). Finally though, I managed to move my numb mouth and thick tongue to vocalize my thoughts.

"T'daaaaaaaashiiiiiii...?"

I watched as the figure, no, Tadashi, smiled and nodded before leaning forward. I felt something warm and soft press against my forehead and a good few seconds passed before I realized that Tadashi had kissed it. Tadashi pulled back, the smile on his face making more bubbles build up in my stomach.

"Yes it's me...was getting worried for a second there that I was talking to myself."

I watched him as he spoke, looking down at me, and felt something warm cup my face, brushing against my cheek in a similar way the circles had been massaged into my hand earlier. Oh. It was his hand. That made sense.

"How are you feeling?" When I didn't answer, ( I was a bit distracted by how calloused Tadashi's hand was, yet it was so gentle and soft at the same time; how did that work?), I felt the hand on my face rub a bit more, and suddenly Tadashi's face was much closer to mine, his eyes patient and trying to catch my own. "How do you feel, Auden?"

I stared at Tadashi a moment before swallowing, the sensation odd through my senseless mouth and part of my esophagus. I smacked my lips, and realized that they, too, were numb. I looked down at my lips, trying to see what was making them and my mouth feel so funny.

Oh right, Tadashi had asked me a question...

I wrestled with my thick, possibly dead tongue, trying to form words that just didn't want to be.

"F-feeeeeeeeelsssss funnnnnnnnaaaayaaaahhh..." I said, eyebrows furrowing and I couldn't see anything wrong with my lips; maybe the answer was on my tongue? I stuck my tongue out and attempted to pull it out more with my hand to get a better look when suddenly my hand was gone. Confused, I glanced up to see Tadashi holding my hand back, a gentle but amused expression on his face.

"Don't be playing with your mouth Auden; it probably feels funny from the novocaine, but it should go away in a few hours."

I felt my eyebrows furrow even more as Tadashi's words slid sluggishly through my mind; novocaine? Why did I have novocaine? I went to ask, but then I realized my tongue was still hanging out of my mouth. Pulling my tongue back in, I asked my question.

"W-whaaaaaaa...?"

Now it was Tadashi's turn to furrow his brows. He spoke, a little hesitant. "You had your wisdom teeth pulled this morning; don't you remember coming to the Oral Surgeon?" He brushed his thumb across my cheek again, as if the action could bring back the memories I clearly had forgotten.

But nothing came. All I could do was stare at Tadashi, feeling more and more confused. Wisdom teeth removed? But, I didn't have wisdom teeth; that's what the dentist told me a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time ago, so why would they remove what wasn't there? I explained this to Tadashi.

"N-nooooooo...nooooo teeeeeth, zip, naaadaaaaa, none! T-told me loooooong time 'go, T'daaaaaashiiiii."

Tadashi stared at me for a moment, taking in what I told him before shaking his head.

"Well, that was before you started having horrible mouth pain a few weeks ago; remember? It was so bad that you were living on liquids and guzzling ibuprofen like there was no tomorrow..." Tadashi looked uncomfortable as he said this, as though the idea of me being in pain actually hurt him as well. "So we brought you to the dentist's and they did an X-Ray and it looked like all four teeth were coming in at once. You needed to have surgery as soon as possible to remove them before you got an infection or worse."

Tadashi continued to rub his thumb down my cheek, his other hand moving in to smooth down my hair, concern alive in his features now.

"Do you really not remember Auden?"

I felt my eyebrows furrow even more, but this time in concentration as I tried to sort through the murkiness of my mind, trying to find some flicker of memory or partial thought that would back up what Tadashi had just told me. Did I really not remember? I swallowed again, ready to open my mouth and tell Tadashi that I had not a clue what he was talking about when something tugged at the back of my mind, insistent on coming to the forefront. I paused, and after a moment, it drifted forward and came into focus.

"Ooooooooooooran' juiiiiiiiiice?" It took me a minute to realize I had just voiced the thought out loud, and I found Tadashi staring down at me for a moment, before something seemed to click in his head.

"Yeah, you've been living on a lot of Orange juice for the passed few days-,"

"G-goooodah," I swallowed, my tongue flopping around in my mouth, "s-sourcah V-viiiiiiiiiiiit-tahhhhmiiiiiin Deeeeeeeeeee."

Tadashi chuckled at my response, a relieved smile on his face as he nodded, the bright concern in his eyes dulled by the wash of relief.

"That's right. Though I thought you didn't like orange juice?"

Thinking of the orange juice, the part of my face I could still feel scrunched up in disgust as I thought of the tangy sour taste I had been dealing with for the passed several days. Orange juice was nasty, but it was a good source of vitamins and nutrients, so I forced myself to chug it.

NOW I remembered that...I always seemed to be carrying around a bottle of it with me wherever I went, the only thing I could swallow without my mouth feeling like it was coming off its hinges. Thinking back to those several days, I couldn't figure out if the pain or the orange juice made the experience more miserable.

I shook my heavy head, rolling it back and forth a across the pillow behind me (had that been there the whole time?) the orange juice still on the forefront of my mind.

"N-nooooo...it...it'ssssssss i-ickkkkkkyyyyyy...b-but, I-I neeeeeeded it..." I looked up at Tadashi, eyes widening a bit as I realized he might think that since I drank so much orange juice, that I might actually LIKE the nasty stuff. "I-I donnnnnn' LIIIIIIIIKE it, T'd'sssssshhhhiiiiii...d-doooon make meeeee d-driiiink it a-anyyyyymoooooore..."

Despite the horrific idea that I might have to drink MORE orange juice was swarming dizzily through my wishy-wash mind, I couldn't help but not be too fearful as the smile on Tadashi's face grew a bit wider, and he leaned down again, his face close as he let his thumb move across my numb cheek.

"Don't worry Auden, you don't have to drink anymore orange juice if you don't want to." Tadashi blurred for a moment as he moved even closer to me, his lips pressing against my nose gently. "But you are gonna have to be on fluids for a few more days because of the surgery. But don't worry; I'll make sure you don't get any icky orange juice, okay?"

I stared at Tadashi as he pulled back, sharpening once again. I nodded, my head heavy and tongue flopping in my skull as I did so.

"P-prooooooooomise...?"

Tadashi chuckled and nodded, letting his hand brush back my curls yet again as his warm brown eyes held mine.

"I promise. Now, the dentist should be in to check you over since you are awake, but after that, we can head out and get you home so you can rest, okay?"

Tadashi waited patiently, watching as I struggled to put meaning behind his words. After a moment of playing match up, I focused on him as best I could and nodded again.

"'Kaaaay, T'd'sssssssshhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiii..."


	2. Chapter 2

_Wisdom_

BH6: Slice of Life

Part One

 **Tadashi POV**

"So this is normal?"

Dr. Colton nodded, looking down at his tablet with Auden's information on it. "Oh yes. General anesthesia has this affect on most everyone." Dr. Colton pressed on the tablet in a few different areas with his stylus. "Though, we had given her a bit more during the procedure, since her two top teeth were more impacted then we had expected, so it's no surprise she's having trouble keeping up with everything."

Dr. Colton glanced at Auden, and I followed suit. She was laying on the cot still, her head heavy on the pillows that propped it up to keep her from swallowing the gauze squares pressed into her cheeks and against her gums to staunch the bleeding. The sling around her mouth to keep the swelling down hid how truly swollen her cheeks, her entire face, was. Her lids hung heavy on her eyes and she was staring at the wall in front of her, her gaze distant and glazed, pupils dilated a bit too much that the stormy grey of her eyes was harder to see than usual. I had never seen Auden so completely out of it before, not in the sense that she could barely keep her eyes open. The confusion and lost look on her face when she woke up had been more than a little alarming, and though she seemed to have a vague understanding of what had happened now, she still furrowed her eyebrows every now and then and gazed around the room, a bit puzzled.

"Of course," I tore my eyes from Auden and back to Dr. Colton, "we usually don't use general anesthesia for tooth extraction, but hers was pretty severe and she needed a stronger sedative to keep her under for longer. That's why I talked about a referral to an Oral Trauama Surgeon down at San Fran General, but she was so adamant about staying clear of the hospital that I just dropped the whole idea."

I nodded, thinking back to the meeting Auden and I had had with Dr. Colton a few days previous after her X-Rays came back. "It's probably because she works there, and didn't want the extra attention directed at her."

 _'Even if it was the better option,'_ I thought, my eyes flickering over to Auden, _'I know she doesn't like being the center of attention, but I should of tried to convince her more than I did. Maybe if I had, the surgery wouldn't had taken as long as it did.'_

The procedure was only suppose to take twenty, thirty minutes at the most, but it took nearly an hour after Dr. Colton saw how badly impacted and wedged her two upper teeth were. I could still feel how the blood drained out of me when he stepped out, surgeon garb still on; I knew that a surgeon only came out of surgery if there was some sort of serious complication.

The thought that something might seriously be wrong with Auden made my heart stop in my chest, ice inject itself into my veins and mouth dry out completely. It was one of the worst thirty-second intervals of my life as he pulled me aside to discuss the condition of her mouth. It was mainly this reason that as soon as she was in recovery, I didn't move even an inch from my spot beside her, even when she didn't wake for almost an hour afterwards.

Even though Dr. Colton said everything had turned out fine, I was terrified to leave her, scared that the moment I took my eyes off of her, she would disappear. It unfortunately brought back memories of my parents and the night it became just me, Hiro, and aunt Cass. I couldn't lose someone else; I couldn't lose Auden.

Dr. Colton glanced up at me, his glasses reflecting the bright screen of his tablet. "I see...still, it probably would have gone a bit more smoother down there than it did here. Not saying I can't do my job, but it just would have been easier and less lengthy if she decided to go to the hospital. Dr. Marazin is a great surgeon; she would of had her out much faster and would of been able to pinpoint the severity of the impaction much sooner than I had.

"But, not much we can do about that now," Dr. Colton moved the stylus in a flourishing movement across the screen, "Important thing now is that they are out and won't cause anymore pain or complications."

I nodded, eyes still on Auden when I heard the click of the Dental Surgeon's stylus hit the tablet in a mark of finality. I looked over to see Dr. Colton looking up at me

"There." The tablet's bright screen blinked off. "I just wrote out a few prescriptions for pain medication and sent them down to the pharmacy to be filled ASAP. They should be ready to pick up within in the next hour or so."

Dr. Colton slid the tablet into the large inner pocket of his lab coat before moving to Auden. "Though, her mouth should be numb for the next few hours, so you have so leeway to get the prescriptions."

I walked over with the dental surgeon, eying Auden as he gave her a look over; she didn't even seem to notice our sudden presence. I bunched my hands in my pockets, fighting off the urge to bite my lip; medication or not, it was still uncomforting to see Auden so out of it. With everything that had happened, I was still on edge.

"What about the anesthesia?"

Dr. Colton paused and looked up at me. "Well, the full effects of general anesthesia take several hours to wear off, but usually most patients just sleep it off. Which is why," Dr. Colton stood up and faced me, "you two should get out of here as soon as possible so she can rest."

Dr. Colton left Auden and went over to the counter, grabbing the bag he had come in with earlier and headed back over, handing it to me. "This is pretty much your 'Wisdom Tooth Extraction' kit; you'll find everything you need, including instructions, on how to take care of her mouth after surgery." Dr. Colton tapped his cheek. "The most important thing at the moment is to check the gauze in her mouth; I just replaced them, but she'll be bleeding a lot over the next few hours, so you'll need to check periodically..." Dr. Colton glanced to his patient, who hadn't even twitched since he came in. "As she is now, she's not in any position to be taking care of it herself, so I'll have to trust that you'll help her out."

I nodded, looking up from the contents of the bag and over at Auden as well. "Of course. I'll make sure everything that needs to get done will be done."

Dr. Colton looked back to me, a smile on his face. "I would expect you would. Now," the dental surgeon clapped his hands together, "I have other patients to attend to, and don't want to keep you a moment longer. I'll be heading out now, but just remember that in three days, she'll have to come back so I can look at her mouth and remove the stitches, alright?"

I nodded, and Dr. Colton held out his hand, which I took and shook. "Excellent. Well then, I'll let you two be on you way." With that, the older doctor slipped out the door, leaving me and Auden in the small room.

Looking once more at the bag in my hands, I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before I turned my attention to Auden, who was still staring emptily at the wall across from her.

Alright, let's see how getting her up and to the parking lot works.

I walked over to the cot, sitting down again on the stool I had pulled from the corner earlier, and watched Auden for a moment before I spoke quietly like before.

"Auden."

No response.

I reached out and cupped her face as gently as I could, the action sending warmth buzzing up my arm. Even after being together as long as we had, I had never gotten used to the sensation that spiraled through me with even just a simple touch. I leaned in, closing the little distance between us, trying to catch her eyes with mine. "Auden."

I stroked her cheek lightly, and waited. After a moment, I watched as Auden blinked, her eyes sliding slowly over to focus on me as best as they would allow. I smiled lightly and stroked her cheek again, speaking slowly so her mind could keep up. "Auden, babe, I know it's really hard for you to focus right now, but I really need you to try, okay? Just until we get to my place."

Another moment passed as Auden processed my words, her eyes never leaving mine. I wondered briefly if she had even been able to understand what I said, when suddenly her head moved in a slow nod, the action looking difficult. She opened her mouth slightly, her words quiet and as slurred as before.

"Kaaaaaay...try fo' y-yooooooooou..."

Even though she was completely out of it, Auden still had the uncanny ability to say things that made my heart flutter and warm. Even as medicated as she was, she was still as adorable and sweet as always. I smiled a bit more and closed the rest of the distance between us with a light kiss to her cheekbone.

"That's all I can ask." I told her, watching as her dilated eyes followed me as I leaned back. "And I appreciate it very much. So, the doc's all finished and gave us the okay to leave; we can head home now." I brushed my thumb against her cheek again. "Ready to go?"

Auden blinked, a few seconds longer than normal, and then opened her eyes and gave me the same slow nod as before. I sat back, and was about to tell her that she was going to have to stand when she suddenly lifted herself, her legs sliding and thumping heavily on the ground as she came to sit up fully, swaying quite a bit. I acted fast, steadying her and wrapping my arms around her to prevent her from pitching forward.

"Whoa,whoa,whoa!" I said, as I felt her try to push off of the bed, clearly not realizing that as soon as she stood, she would crumple to the ground at the lack of support. "Slow down Auden; no need to jump up and hit the ground running." I pulled back a bit to look at her face. "You're body is still half asleep, so go easy, okay?"

Auden dragged her eyes from her legs and up to me, eyebrows furrowing as she looked at me, clearly not understanding what I was talking about.

"B-but, th...thooooought we...we werrrrrrrre leaaaaavin'..." Auden swallowed, a crease appearing between her brows as they sunk down more. "We..weeee are leaaaavin', riiiiiiigh'...?"

I nodded, taking one hand from around her back and bringing it up to brush away a few of her wild curls that fell into her face. I hated seeing her looking at me like that, so lost and confused and like she was doing something wrong. It made unnecessary guilt burn through me.

"Yeah, we are leaving," I said softly, letting my hand play with the curls it was holding out of her face, "just...you don't need to push yourself Auden. You aren't up to doing that, and I don't mind going at your pace, so take your time, alright?" I watched, waiting for Auden to give me a sign that she understood. When I received the slow nod a moment later I pulled back a bit more from her.

Letting my hand loose her curls, I wrapped my arm around her back, supporting her. It might just be easier to carry her, but even with her as out of it as she was, she would still probably not want any of it. Auden was surprisingly stubbornly independent, not wanting others' help, even when she desperately needed it. She didn't want to be a bother, and didn't want to seem needy.

As I pulled her tighter to me, I waited for her weight to shift, for her to sink against me before I started walking with her. It only took several seconds for her body to wobble and press into my side, relaxing against it for support. Rubbing her back, I brought my lips to her ear.

"Alright, now if you start feeling dizzy or nauseous, just stop and I will too, okay?" Slow nod. "Ready to go then?" Another slow nod.

I took a deep breath in, and began to walk with Auden.

It was a long process. Auden would walk fine for a few steps, then wobble, so much so at times that I was tense, ready to fly into action to catch her, but then she'd overcome it and we'd continue on. A few times she just stopped completely, and I figured that maybe she was feeling faint or nauseous, but when I went to check, I found her staring out into space, looking at something I couldn't see. I'd rub her back gently and coax her back into walking, and she'd look at me like she didn't even remember what we had been doing.

Needless to say, I was relieved to finally come to a stop in front of my aunt's truck, (I had borrowed it to bring Auden to and from the Oral Surgeon, as I did not feel comfortable at all with her riding on my moped, nor riding the busy trolleys with nosy passengers), and was getting ready to unlock the passengers side door when Auden suddenly spoke.

"A-am I driiiiiiiviiiiinn'...?"

I felt my eyebrows shoot up and disappear into my hairline, almost dropping the keys at the unexpected question. Auden, DRIVE? I looked up from the door and to Auden, finding it difficult to overcome my shock and wipe it from my face.

"Auden...you can't drive. You just got out of surgery...and you don't have your license." I said slowly, unable to keep my incredulous tone as minimized as I had hoped to make it. But honestly, when had I expected to hear Auden ask to DRIVE?

Auden stared at me, her brows once again coming to crease in confusion. "B...but... I-I shhhhhhoul' haaaav my liiiiiiiiiceeeeeeeenssssssss...I-I'mma tw-tweennnn'y..."

I watched as Auden frowned, her brows coming down further to rest on her eyes as she struggled to think.

"Tweennnnn'yyyy...twen'yyyyyyy?"

She looked up at me, hazy eyes questioning, searching mine the best they could to see if she could find the answer that seemed to slip her mind.

I gave her a soft smile. "Two." I supplied, looking into her dilated, yet beautiful, eyes. I rubbed my hand in gentle, soothing circles across her back. "You're twenty-two babe."

I watched as Auden stared at me, eyebrows beginning to ascend from their furrowed position when they suddenly dove back down, as if something else had just crossed her mind.

"N-nooooooo...you'raaaah t-twennnnnnnn'yyyyy-" Auden swallowed again, the question marks above her head all too easy to see. "Tweennnnnnn'y 'wooooooo...I-I'mma twennnnnnnnnn'yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..."

Auden shook her head side to side a bit too fast, throwing her already delicate equilibrium off and causing her body to dip to the left. I wrapped my arm around her back tighter, putting my other arm around her front across her waist to center her again. Auden didn't seem to notice, or was too busy concentrating on talking, because she continued on as if nothing had happened.

"Naaaaa o-ooolllll'eeeeeeerrr..."

I nodded, glancing from Auden and to the door of the truck, eying the keys hanging out of the lock. If only I could open the door and get her situated, then things would be so much smoother and I wouldn't have to worry about her taking a nosedive every five seconds. But seeing as how both my arms were occupied at keeping my listing girlfriend from crumpling to the pavement, I wasn't exactly in the position to be unlocking and opening car doors.

How to get about this...time to look at things from a new angle...

"You're right," I replied, looking back to Auden, who was watching me as intently as one could while heavily medicated, "you aren't older than me, but you are twenty-two; I'm twenty-four." I leaned forward and placed a kiss on her temple. "Some time has passed since I was twenty-two and you were twenty, love."

I pulled back, ready to gauge Auden's reaction, and hope that I had cleared up some of her seemingly constant confusion. Auden was staring up at me, swaying slightly despite my arms around her, looking at me as if she didn't completely believe me.

"Yooooooou sssssssssure 'boooooouthaaaaaaaa..?"

I nodded, bringing the hand on her waist to her arm, rubbing reassuringly.

"Very very sure; we hit the two year mile stone a few months back, remember? So, I'm pretty positive."

I could see the gears turning in Auden's head as she attempted to bring forward the events of a few months ago to prove my point. After a moment, her eyes widened and she focused back on me, mouth slightly ajar.

"W...wwwwwweeee'rrrrrrrrrre daaaaaaaatiiiiiinnn'?"

I couldn't help the small light chuckle that tickled its way up my throat as I heard Auden's awed whisper, the confusion on her face transforming to pure shock and disbelief. The surprise on her face must of transferred to the rest of her body as well, because she was no longer swaying or wobbling as she had been a moment ago. Seeing my chance, I carefully unwrapped my arm from around her front and reached for the keys in the door.

"That's right. "I said simply, the smile on my face growing as I glanced at Auden to see her eyes widening even more, her jaw slackened. "We're dating." Accomplishment flew through me as my hand grasped the keys and turned them, the click of the locks emanating from the truck. Now all I had to do was open the door and get Auden in. "Been dating for over two years now."

"W-whyyyyyyyyyyy...?"

The genuine curiosity in Auden's slurred question had me pausing, hand on the handle. Why? I turned back to Auden, hand not moving from the door.

"Why?" I repeated, Auden's eyes glued to me. "Well, because I find you to be a very smart, caring, kind, beautiful person, and you make me very happy. I guess to put it simply, the reason why I am dating you is because I want to." I rubbed my hand up and down on her back. "Is that okay?"

Auden didn't say anything for a long moment, just kept staring at me. I thought that maybe she hadn't understood what I said for a second when she blinked and began speaking suddenly.

"Wooooooooooooooooooooooow, thaaaa's REALLYYYYYYYYYYY cooooooooooooolaaaaaah..."

Now it was my turn to stare, not expecting the response I had received (or a response at all), but overcame my surprise fairly quickly and found myself laughing.

"Yes," I said, looking down at Auden, who seemed a bit confused by my sudden laughter, "it is really, really, _REALLY_ cool." I leaned down and pressed my lips against her forehead, using the momentum to pull open the car door with a satisfying pop. "Dating you has been one of the coolest experiences of my life."

I offered Auden another gentle smile before I pulled back and turned my attention to the door. Carefully, I opened the door the rest of the way, arm tightening around Auden in case her legs decided that they were made of gelatin again.

"Wooooooow..." My lips twitched into a smile as I heard Auden's awed whisper, her word clearly meant not to be heard by anyone but herself. Turning myself back to her, the small smile grew on my face as I watched her eyes follow me, slowly finding their way to my own again. I couldn't help it as my hand made its way to her face, cupping her cheek yet again. Even with the splint and swelling, I could still recognize Auden's face, the feel of it ingrained into both my hand and mind's memory.

"Alright, ready to get in the truck?" I asked, stroking her cheekbone. "As soon as you're in there, you can relax, okay?"

Auden's eyes moved to look at where my hand was placed on her face before slowly making their way back to my gaze. She swallowed, then moved her head in that now familiar slow nod.

"'Kaaaaaaaaaaaay...T'sssssssssssshiiiiiii..."

I nodded in return. "Okay then," I straightened up, pulling Auden closer to my side. "Here we go."

If I thought walking Auden out to the parking lot had been stressful, then getting her into the truck was an experience that delivered gray hairs. I had to swoop in and pull her up from cracking her head against the bottom of the truck when her foot slipped and she pitched forward. Then there was the few times where she tipped backwards, and if it wasn't for my deathlike grip on her back, then she would have had a solid hit to the pavement. So after the sixth or seventh try (I was too wound up by that point to really be keeping track) Auden was finally able to get seated in the truck. With a speed I didn't know I possessed, I threw the seatbelt over her and made sure she was not in the way of the door before I shut it.

I could feel how tense my muscles were, an ache running across the my shoulders, traps clenching from stress. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, taking a minute to recollect myself before getting in the truck myself.

Placing the bag Dr. Colton had given to be on the middle seat, I then shut my door and grabbed the keys.

"Alright," I said, twisting the keys in the ignition, the soft thrum of the truck filling the air, "time to go." I glanced at Auden, to see that her head was now resting against the window, curls a bit frazzled and spilling this way and that around her shoulders and down her arms. Her gaze was once again distant, staring absently at the dash in front of her. Her lids were slowly lowering, eyes almost completely closed, when they lifted half way again in what looked like a struggle.

I could feel the frown form on my face. I KNEW it was the medication, but still...

Leaning over, I grabbed her shoulder lightly, rubbing my thumb up and down it gently. Sensing the touch, Auden blinked and slowly brought her gaze to her shoulder and my hand.

"Hey." I said softly, pausing as I waited for Auden to look up at me. With her dazed eyes on my face now, I continued. "You don't have to force yourself to stay awake Auden." Another long blink. "The hard part's done, so if you want to sleep, go right ahead. I know you are probably exhausted."

Auden stared up at me, eyes unfocused and she swallowed, mouth opening slightly.

"'Mmmmmm...naaaaa...naaaa tiiiiiiiiiiirrrrred..." Auden rolled her head against the window, moving it side to side, "f...fiiiiiiiiine...s'oooookaaaaaaay..."

I closed my eyes, letting air trickle out my nose to hide the sigh; I couldn't get over how stubborn Auden could be at times. Even when she was completely out of it, she was still as stubborn as an ox. I didn't mind it; it was a part of her and I had come to accept that. But when it started to interfere with her well-being, that's when things got complicated.

"Auden." I said slowly, watching as my girlfriend attempted to keep her eyes from rolling back into her skull. "Go to sleep, please. You really need to rest."

Though I didn't think it was possible, Auden managed to frown, her eyebrows arching down and she fixed me with a look that I knew if she was more with it, would be her _"I'm not going to change my mind so there is no point in arguing"_ look.

"T-t'daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssshhhhhhhiiiiiii..."

"Auden," I said, making my tone a bit more firm, "you need to sleep. I won't start driving until you shut your eyes."

Despite their haziness, I could see the spark appear in Auden eyes that often did when she felt strongly on a matter and decided it was something worth talking about. I watched as she struggled for a moment to sit up, but gave up a few seconds later and instead settled for a half strength glare.

"S'naaaaaaaaaaaa 'appennnniiiiinnnnnn'..."

"Well then," I turned the keys and the truck stopped idling, stillness filling the space, "guess we'll be sitting here for a while then."

Though I hated to argue with her, I wasn't going to just let her keep pushing herself; Auden had a habit and history of forcing herself passed her physical, emotional, and mental capabilities, and would only stop when she literally dropped. I wasn't going to let this become one of those times; plus, Auden wasn't the only stubborn one.

Auden eyed the ignition before looking back to me. I hated how she was looking at me, the exasperation evident beyond the daze. Still, I held my ground, never taking my eyes off of her. I leaned back against my own door, and waited. It was time to see what was stronger; the anesthesia or Auden's stubbornness.

Granted, it took longer than I thought (about five minutes) but finally Auden sighed, letting her barely cracked eyes close.

"'Iiiiiiiiiine... 'aaaaaaaaaappyyyyy?"

I could hear the hint of annoyance in her slurred words, but I hadn't expected anything less. I leaned forward, starting the truck for the second time. As the engine thrummed, I moved across the seat and planted a kiss on Auden's temple.

"Very." I said, and couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face as Auden mumbled incoherently, most likely something sharp and directed at me.

Sitting back, I took hold of the steering wheel and readied to put the truck in reverse. I looked back over at Auden, and couldn't help but say in a sing song voice, "I love you, babe."

"Mmmmmmmph."

Grinning to myself, I turned my attention back to the parking lot and backed up, pulling out of the spot and towards the exit. As I waited for an opening in the busy street of traffic to open up, I glanced over at Auden, the smile on my face softening as I noticed how her facial features had smoothed out, her breathing deep and even and body relaxed, slumped and almost melting into the upholstery. Leaning over, I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before facing the road again, pulling out as the rare opening appeared before me, my heart light in my chest as I joined in with the crazy traffic of downtown San Fransokyo.


	3. Chapter 3

_Phew it's been a while since I've updated this! I actually thought I DID put up the third part, but turns out I was wrong...Oops. Sorry about that ^ ^" But hey, at least I remembered! I've been pretty busy, with work and other life plans, so checking this website hasn't been in the forefront of my mind. Ironically, I'm getting my wisdom teeth out next week, so I suppose things are coming full circle here XD. It was time to finish this thing._

 _But anyways, here is the third and final part of_ _ **Wisdom.**_ _I hope I was able to characterize bothe Tadashi and Hiro correctly in this section; please let me know if I succeeded!_

 _If you'd like to learn more about my OC Auden, you can check out my deviantart account: Smokelesseyes dot deviantart dot com :3_

 _Thanks for reading!_

 _~Smoke_

 _Wisdom_

BH6: Slice of Life

Part Three

"SssssssssstoooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP..."

Auden pressed against my chest, arms shaking from the little bit of effort and legs kicking weakly as she attempted to get free of my grip. Her head rolled on my chest, flopping backwards against my arm as she glared up at me with glazed, half lidded eyes.

"P-puuuuuuuuuuu' 'eee dowwwwwwwwwwnnnnnn 'aaaaaassssshhiiiiiiiiii..."

"Sorry love," I said, shifting my weight so I could hit my hip against the passenger's side door, listening as it clicked shut, "no can do. I'll put you down once we're inside, alright?"

Auden's eyes narrowed, and despite the irritation lining her swollen features, I couldn't find it in myself to feel intimidated.

I had just pulled up to the cafe, and upon realizing that Auden was still passed out and that there would be not only one, but two flights of stairs to climb, I decided that it would be in everyone's best interest if I just carried Auden in. Of course, the original plan had included Auden remaining asleep, but as soon as I pulled her into my arms, she stirred and had realized what I was doing much quicker than I had thought.

Auden squirmed against my tightened grip, eyes still hard as she focused on me, frown becoming more prominent on her face as I turned and began to walk to the back door of the cafe, the bag from the Oral Surgeon swinging around on my wrist.

"NnnnnnnooooOOOOOOOOO..." Auden slurred, voice growing louder to show the disdain for the action I was committed to continue doing. "C-caaaaaaaan waaaaaal'...d-doooon neeeeeeed yyyyyyyaaaaa taaa carryyyyyyy 'eeeee..."

Reaching the door, I shifted Auden in my arms as I grabbed the keys I had left dangling on my index finger, fingers filtering through the several until I found the one for the door.

"I'm sure you can," I said, pressing the key into the lock and turning it, "but I'm going to keep carrying you, because I want you to rest, okay?"

Auden grumbled something under her breath, a sign that she was still not okay with the current circumstances, but she had accepted that this was how things were going to be. Relief washed through me as she stilled in my arms, head ducked into my chest, most likely ignoring me for the time being. But as long as I didn't have to worry about her falling down a flight of stairs, I think I'd be all right with it.

Opening the door, I pulled the keys out and kicked it shut gently, making my way up the stairs, trying to jostle Auden as little as possible. I was about half way up when I heard a familiar voice echo through the upper floor.

"Tadashi? That you?"

The sound of feet clambering down the second flight of stairs had my lips twitching up in a smile as I called back.

"Yeah, it's me."

As I cleared the landing, Hiro finished bounding down the stairs, a blur of gangly limbs and dark hair that seemed to move on its own accord. Sliding his hand across the banister, Hiro came to a stop in front of us, and I managed to glimpse the gap between the hem of his pants and socks. It was just a testament to how Hiro seemed to be growing like a weed suddenly. It seemed that as soon as he turned seventeen, puberty hit hard and fast; he'd been inching up slowly, but within the last two months, had added four inches onto himself. He now stood taller than Auden, and the top of his head came to eye level with me. It was a relief to know that my baby brother wouldn't remain as tiny as he had been for the majority of his life, but also a bit sad, as it hit hard that he was growing up, was becoming an adult.

"I was wondering when you two were gonna get here." Hiro said, his voice sounding, if possible, deeper than it had been when I talked to him last night. "I thought that the procedure only took twenty minutes; what took so long?" I watched as my brother eyed Auden, who still had her face tucked away into my chest.

"Well, it was suppose to," I hoisted Auden up a bit in my arms, causing her to grumble something incoherent, "but it turns out that her teeth were worse off than the dentist had originally thought, so it took longer to get them out."

Hiro looked up at me, dark brows raised.

"Really? Aw man, that sucks." I watched as my brother looked back down at Auden. "Seems like she can never catch a break."

I sighed, looking down at Auden in my arms. "Yeah, I know." Whenever Auden got sick or hurt herself in someway, she always ended up with the shorter end of the sick, getting dealt the worst hand possible for the situation.

"Hey," I felt my brows shift down as the sudden thought flickered through my mind, "shouldn't you be at school? It's Tuesday. Don't you have Electrical Engineering today?"

Hiro shrugged, hands digging deep into his pockets.

"Well, I was _suppose_ to, but Professor Dendeski cancelled cause she came down with a nasty bug over the weekend, so now I have to write a paper on the application of Electrical Circuitry in the later half of the twentieth century." Hiro made a face, clearly not appreciating the assignment; my brother was more hands on than a paperwork type of kid. "So I've got the morning free until my Advanced Robotics lab at three. Oh, hey Auden."

I watched as my brother looked down, and followed suit, to see Auden had moved her head from out of my chest and was now looking around the apartment, the lost and confused look from earlier at the Oral Surgeon's office making its second appearance. I watched as her eyes drifted to Hiro, who offered her a quirky smile, but she just stared at him, lids heavy on her eyes and pupils as large as ever. I flickered my own eyes up to my little brother, who had dropped the smile and looked up at me, worry forming in his eyes.

"Uh...is she suppose to be like this?" Hiro gestures to my armful of Auden. "Is this normal?"

I couldn't help but shake my head at how similar Hiro's response was to mine when Auden had first woken up.

"Yeah, it's normal." I said, wanting to assure my brother that everything was fine. "She ended up having general anesthesia instead of local, so she'll be a bit out of it for the next handful of hours. She should be back to normal by the time you get home tonight."

Hiro nodded, relief washing away the worry as he looked back down at Auden. "Alright, cool. Hopefully she'll recognize me later then."

"Don't take it too personally." I said as Hiro continued to study Auden. "It took her a while to recognize me as well, and I'm fairly certain that if we held a mirror up to her right now, she probably wouldn't recognize herself either."

That got a chuckle out of my younger brother. "Oh man, if that's the case, then she really must not be with it at the moment." I watched as Hiro bent down, getting eye level with Auden. A moment passed before he spoke again, voice quieter. "Wow...she looks terrible. What'd they do, use power tools to pull her teeth out? Looks painful."

"Well, it's gonna be feeling painful pretty soon." I said, watching the concern grow on Hiro's face as he took in Auden's swollen cheeks. "The novocaine is going to be wearing off, so I need to go get her pain medication." I looked down at Auden, who had turned her attention from Hiro and was now staring at Mochi, sitting on the stairs behind my not-so-little brother. "I just came to drop her off first and see if I could get her to sleep while I run and get it but I'm not sure how willing she is to cooperate." I sighed, our standoff on the truck coming to mind. "I guess we'll see."

"Dude, I can go pick up her prescriptions."

I blinked, just staring at my brother for a moment, not sure if I heard him right.

"What?"

Hiro rolled his eyes.

"I said, that I'll go pick up Auden's medications. I don't got anything to do, besides that essay, but honestly, the reality that I'll do it today is slim. Plus," Hiro shrugged his shoulders, "you should stay with Auden anyways, especially since she's so out of it."

Hiro walked over to the kitchen table, grabbing his black hoody that was slung across one of the chairs. "The pharmacy is only a couple blocks away, so I should get there and back with enough time to head down to SFIT." Hiro tugged the sweatshirt on before looking back up at me. "Sound good?"

"Um, yeah," I said, still trying to process the fact that Hiro had just so nonchalantly offered to pick up Auden's medications. The idea hadn't even crossed my mind to ask him, and by the look on his face, he knew that as well. "I mean, if you're really okay with that."

Hiro shook his head, hair bouncing around, brushing against his forehead.

"Bro, I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't okay with it." Hiro walked passed me and Auden, tugging his sneakers on that he had left by the landing. "Besides, I could use some exercise, and you could use some sleep." Hiro glanced up at me. "The both of you. I haven't seen you lay down for more than five minutes in the passed three weeks." Hiro studied me for a moment, scrutinizing my features. "And the times I have seen you, you've been practically dead on your feet, kind of like right now."

"Thanks for the compliment." I deadpanned, watching as

Hiro stood up, tapping the toes of his shoes behind him to adjust them.

"Hey I'm just saying," Hiro patted down his pockets, pulling out his wallet, "that maybe to should take longer than thirty seconds to break from work and packing. Stuff is still gonna be there, whether you take five minutes or five hours to kick back."

After a quick glance, Hiro pocketed his wallet and looked up at me, the dark of his eyes unable to shadow the worry like his nonchalant tone had. "Just...take care of yourself, okay? Don't need ya pulling an Auden on me."

The thought of the few times Auden had pushed herself passed her breaking point surfaced in my mind, the emotions that went along with them still as strong and fresh as they were the day they appeared. The thought of possibly putting Hiro through that made my stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"Since when did you care so much about my wellbeing?"

My brother scoffed, and if my arms hadn't been full of Auden, I would have reached out and ruffled his fluffy hair. "But I get what you're saying; trust me, I would LOVE to sleep longer than a few hours, but something called 'deadlines' makes that dream very impossible at the time being."

"There's something called prioritizing, Tadashi."

I cocked a brow. "Really? You, the master procrastinator, are going to try to lecture me on prioritizing? That's rich."

Hiro rolled his eyes, mouth opening to retort but I beat him to it. "Don't worry about me; soon as I've completed grinding the numbers for this quarter and finished moving in to our apartment, I'll probably sleep for days." I looked down at Auden, surprised to find her staring up at me, "The both of us probably will."

"I can't believe Auden is 100% okay with sleeping next to your obnoxious snoring self." Hiro shook his head. "She's not gonna be getting any sleep any time soon if you keep that bad habit up; seriously dude, it's like the engine of a fighter jet taking off."

"Oh come on," I said, rolling my eyes at my brothers exaggeration, " it's not _that_ bad, and you know I only snore when I get really congested."

"Still doesn't make it any less obnoxious."

"Good. I'm glad my random bouts of snoring irked you." I smirked, watching as my brother readied a remark when Auden fidgeted in my arms, pressing her hands against my chest and mumbling something to herself that sounded like "dooooooow'ooooooow." I hoisted her up again, causing her grumbling to louden for a moment before quieting back down.

"Dude, you should go put her down before she flies out of your arms." Hiro commented, watching Auden's attempts at getting free of my grip failed.

I sighed, tightening my grip on Auden a bit more and could have sworn I heard her growl in response. "Trust me, she doesn't have the strength to push herself out, but she'll strain herself if she keeps it up, and knowing her, she will."

I sidestepped my brother and made my way to the second flight of stairs, turning back to look at him.

"Thanks for doing this Hiro; the both of us appreciate it."

"Dude, like I said, not that big a deal." Hiro shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, looking up at me through black fringe. "You're making it seem like I'm climbing Mount Everest to deliver soup to your elderly grandma. It's really not that amazing."

"Well, I just wanted you to know that I," I glanced down at Auden "we, really appreciate it."

Hiro gave me a look.

"You really don't think I know that? Tadashi, do you even know who you are? Gratitude is something you exude on a daily basis, for any little thing, so of course I know you appreciate it. Even if you didn't say anything, I would of still known. Remember," Hiro pulled out a hand and tapped his head with a finger, " you're talking to a genius here."

"Oh that's right; how ever could I have forgotten?" I chuckled softly, shaking my head, noting the way Hiro smirked at my reaction.

"You know," I turned my attention back to Hiro, who was looking off to the side, "if you haven't collapsed into a drooling comatose mess by the time I've gotten back, I can show you something I've been working on, if, you know, you wanna see it."

I felt my smile soften at my little brother's request; between the move and work, I hadn't had much time to just hang out and talk with him. Even though he was getting older, he still was my younger brother and liked to do stuff with me; the feeling went both ways.

"That would be cool." I said, watching as my brother's eyes flickered up to mine. "I'd love to see what you are working on. As long as it's not for any illegal activities." I raised my brows at my brother, remembering the one too many times I had to track him down in the middle of the night and pull him from alleyways and men that could break him in half like a tooth pick with just their thumb and forefinger. Hiro rolled his eyes.

"Relax ya big nerd; I haven't gone bot fighting in years and you know it; winning got boring after a while. Money was nice, but I like a challenge, ya know?" Hiro shook his head and turned to the stairs. " I'll show you what I've _REALLY_ been working on when I get back; I think you'll like it."

I nodded. "Can't wait to see it then, knucklehead."

Hiro grinned.

"Awesome.

"Well, I'll be going before you try to thank me again." Hiro started down the steps, feet echoing up the stairwell. "See you in a few!" The stomps continued to echo their way up until the sound of the door opening and slamming from below silenced them.

Once I was sure he was gone, I couldn't help but roll my eyes before I turned my attention back to Auden, who was staring at the spot where Hiro had just been standing. She then brought her head up, eyes questioning as to where exactly my little brother had gone. Smiling softly, I craned my neck down and kissed her forehead gently.

"Don't worry, Hiro will be back. He just went to get you some stuff to help you feel better.

"Now," I started up the stairs, holding Auden closer to me, "how does getting nice and comfy in bed sound?"

"Mmmmmmmmm..." I felt Auden bury her face into my chest again, letting out a soft sigh, "soooooouuuuun's niiiiiiiiiice..."

I smiled at her response, and brushed my thumb across her shoulder.

"So, I take it that you're not mad at me anymore?" I reached the landing and turned left, walking down the small hall. "I'm forgiven?"

Auden's voice was muffled by my jacket, soft and drifting.

"Caaaaaaan' s'aaaaaaaaay maaaaaaaaad aaaaa' yooooooooou," a small yawn interrupted Auden. "I loooooooooooooooove ya t-tooooooooo muuuuuch ta s'aaaaay m-maaaaaaad, duuuuummmmmmmmmyyyyyy..."

"Hey, hurtful." I teased, pressing open the door to mine and Hiro's room. Boxes and empty space filled the majority of my part of the room now, a reminder that within a week, I would no longer be living here. The thought brought both excitement and sadness twirling through me, a bitter sweetness that came with the end of one journey and the start of another.

I mentally patted myself on the back as I saw the blankets pulled back and pillows already fluffed and positioned to keep Auden's head up. At least I had been somewhat prepared for today. Carefully, I lowered Auden down, noting how relaxed and loose her body had become, her head rolling onto the pillow, eyes shut and face serene.

Gently, I took off her coat and removed her shoes, glad she had heeded the dentist's warning about wearing comfortable clothing, sweatpants on even though the idea of wearing sweats in public mortified her to no end. I chuckled at the thought, then smiled softly to myself as I recognized one of my SFIT tees on her, too big, but that just made it even more endearing. Pulling the covers up, I smoothed the wild curls of her head out of her face and pressed my lips warmly onto her forehead, letting them linger for a moment.

So much was happening, so much changing in so little time. My stress was through the roof and my energy thanks to espresso shots and adrenaline kicks. My sleep schedule was pretty much nonexistent, and my emotions were far and few, ranging from trickles of fear and excitement to sadness and happiness which together, had boiled down and conjugated into a sticky, confusing mess.

I was just one small step away from being a train wreck, like Hiro thought, and though I'd rather not be in this position, I couldn't help but think despite all the hassle, how worth all of this was. How worth it was for mine and Auden's future. That thought alone made all the stress, all the jittery days and sleepless nights, all the wound up emotions and worry of the unknown acceptable, made it something I could handle.

My lips peeking up into a smile on Auden's forehead, I pulled back, my hand moving to cup her face, thumb running across her padded cheek softly. Just taking her in, thinking about all we had been through...

Definitely worth it.

Auden was worth it all.

"I love you too, Auden."

 _~The End~_


End file.
